Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,227,994 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 1,459,269 shares.The stock last traded at $8.70 and had previously closed at $8.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KURA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Kura Oncology from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $20.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kura Oncology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.86.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a current ratio of 6.06. The firm has a market cap of $760.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.25.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $17.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.71 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 412.95% and a negative return on equity of 102.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In related news, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 7,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $60,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 145,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,112.82. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 6,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total transaction of $54,262.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 183,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,506.50. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 36,068 shares of company stock worth $305,135 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 6.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter worth about $143,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 115,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 26,400 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 72,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 18,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 13.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 118,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 13,690 shares during the period.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc (NASDAQ: KURA) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted oncology therapies. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, the company leverages expertise in molecular biology and precision medicine to identify key drivers of cancer growth and design small-molecule inhibitors that block those pathways. Kura’s research platform integrates genomic insights with medicinal chemistry to advance candidates against well-validated targets in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

The company’s lead clinical candidate, tipifarnib, is a farnesyltransferase inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of HRAS-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and various non-small cell lung cancers.